CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks waited 77 years to win the Stanley Cup on home ice. They had to wait a little bit longer to celebrate with the actual trophy though.

Playoff MVP Duncan Keith scored and Patrick Kane added an insurance goal on Monday night as the Blackhawks shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 in Game 6 of the NHL championship series. But when the final buzzer sounded, the Stanley Cup itself was not yet in the United Center.

Instead, severe rainstorms left many streets in Chicago flooded and traffic snarled throughout the city, preventing the historic trophy from getting to the arena on time.

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With the game winding down and the Blackhawks closing in on their third championship in six seasons, a police escort had to be assigned to help the Cup arrive on the ice.

Even still, the crowd grew restless waiting for the Stanley Cup as the team celebrated on the ice.

Although the Blackhawks have now won six Stanley Cups in franchise history, the last time they won in Chicago was 1938.

Ironically, the Stanley Cup was also not in Chicago in 1938.

The Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in that best-of-five series. However, the NHL did not expect Chicago to win the clinching Game 4, instead opting to keep the Cup in Toronto since the Maple Leafs would presumably force a decisive Game 5.

And so, another season of professional hockey is upon us, bringing with it the usual roller-coaster of wins and losses, bruises and breaks, beer and popcorn, Leafs and Habs and all the rest. In case the traditionally woebegone Maple Leafs achieve success beyond their seasonal disappointments, I have prepared a set of instructions. Should the unlikely — nay, unthinkable — occur, please follow these rules to maintain a sense of balance and stability. Note: Clip, fold and keep on hand until April.

1. Goalie Jonathan Bernier will not be coming to your house for dinner. In as much as Mr. Bernier’s Gallic handsomeness may capture the hearts of Leaf fans everywhere, and despite the fact that he seems like a nice fellow, inviting him to dinner and then waiting for him near the loading bay behind the ACC is neither APPROPRIATE NOR ADVISABLE. Mr. Bernier is a professional athlete with a busy schedule and even though you are preparing “his favourite meal with a nice dessert and he can wear your funny pussycat slippers!” he will not be coming to your home.

2. Eating only blue foods is unhealthy. In as much as you will be drawn to small plums, Cyclones, Concord grapes, and various fruit pies should the Leafs manage even a modicum of success, it is always better to subsist on a diet of many-coloured foods. Even though a voice may tell you, “Sitt says eating blue is the Maple Leaf way!” and “Wendel says red foods suck!” this is likely a product of your disorientation. Also Smurfs and laundry detergent are not food.

3. What is this feeling of elation and how do I deal with it? Because these “good” feelings will be new to you as a Leaf fan, remember to take it “one day at a time.” You will likely want to “spread Maple Leaf love” by doing unusual things — stalling traffic while revealing spheres of buttocks painted blue and white, for instance. Do not do this. Also, do not approach telephone poles and ask if they “saw that great game last night?” and do not spend most of your work time phoning sports chat shows and disguising your voice so you can appear multiple times. Also, do not consider getting your hair cut to look like Phil Kessel. Phil can get away with it (almost). You can’t.

4. Is this how religious people feel when they talk about experiencing the rapture? While it’s true that the Leafs winning may, in fact, indicate an end of times, it is not possible to experience a “rapture” after a three-, even four-, even five-game winning streak, especially owing to victories over inferior opponents. “Sporting rapture” usually occurs after championships are won, and, in the event that this seems likely, refer to subsection 245A of this document i.e. outfitting and sealing home and adapting lifestyle for possible Leaf Stanley Cup win.

5. Will James van Riemsdyk date my sister? Will she date him? I think she will! In as much as you are a fan of James van Riemsdyk’s prowess around the goal crease, do not attempt to follow him around in bars showing him flattering pictures of your sister from that time she appeared in CAA News after her promotion. He will almost certainly feel threatened by you, and I can 100% guarantee that he will not date your sister (or her, him). Also, do not complicate the lives of others, especially family members, with your Leaf obsession.

6. Is getting a tattoo of Dion Phaneuf on my stomach a good idea? No.

7. Will a bank loan me money so I can build an enormous Maple Leaf float in my backyard then sail it down Yonge Street during the parade, riding to freedom and daylight and the everlasting glow of hockeylove? Also, no.

8. Use prescribed gestures to calm the rise of Leaf-inspired irrationality. Try patting a knee or snapping your fingers whenever you feel overcome by Leaf euphoria. Imagine you are an island in the middle of a sunswept sea and nothing will ever interrupt your placid thoughts. DO NOT imagine David Clarkson swimming out while wearing a waterproof backpack carrying a six-pack of beer, which, of course, he will drink with you because he is your friend (HE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!) and he wants to remember those good old days growing up in Mimico (HE WILL NOT TALK ABOUT MIMICO!) before asking if you’d like to dream about what it would be like if the Leafs won the Cup (THE LEAFS ARE NOT WINNING THE CUP!).

9. What if the Leafs win the Cup? See answers 1 through 8. Also, THE LEAFS ARE NOT WINNING THE CUP!

The new season is here, but the Los Angeles Kings are still enjoying their Stanley Cup victory from last season.

The L.A. Kings opened the 2013-14 season against the San Jose Sharks Wednesday night, but before the game, the team held a pre-game ceremony commemorating their Stanley Cup win over the New York Rangers.

With a soundtrack of Coldplay and cheers, the team watched as Lord Stanley’s Cup, ever so careful, descended from the Staples Centre rafters and settled at centre ice. Then captain Dustin Brown lifted it up to the crowd, just like he did back in June.

Following the Stanley Cup presentation, the Kings welcomed greats Marcel Dionne and Rogie Vachon along with members of the junior Kings to help raise the championship banner to the rafters, giving their 2011-12 banner some company.

The San Jose Sharks, understandably, were not on the ice for these festivities. It was during the opening round of last year’s playoffs that the Sharks —who have built a reputation for exiting the playoffs earlier than expected — blew a 3-0 series lead against the Kings.

So watching that might be like rubbing salt in the wound with sandpaper. At least you have this banner, Sharks.

Something was missing from the spectacle of the first two games of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals between the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers.

It wasn’t starpower. The Staples Center crowd backing the Kings was well peppered with celebrities and movie moguls.

Among the Tinseltown luminaries were Jason Bateman, Larry David, Tom Hanks, Ellen Page and Chris Pine. And was that Top Gun producer Jerry Bruckheimer sitting three rows up in the corners and Steven Spielberg leaning wistfully on the glass? No matter, the lower bowl denizens at Staples simply looked different from other rinks. Not due to their fame but their dress.

Of course, there were folks decked out in the slightly unbecoming uniform of modern hockey fandom with hoodies, hats, t-shirts, and, of course, jerseys glimmering in the silver, purple and black of the Kings.

But there was another uniform on display, the casual-cool dress of Hollywood which makes its wearers look glamorously famous even if they are not. Indeed, the sartorially observant could find a preponderance of well-fitted dark shirts paired with even darker tailored blazers or jackets.

In the context of the playoffs, this is entirely aberrant behaviour.

In hockey-mad towns like Boston, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, even Anaheim (LA’s rival to the south) wearing a team sweater or, at the very least a t-shirt facsimile, is de rigueur. For example, in nearly any still image, from any angle, from the first round between New York and Philadelphia, you will find jerseys in Flyers orange or Rangers blue blanketing the stands.

In those towns, when the camera catches the action close to the boards, it is difficult to tell if the bodies and limbs belong to the players or their glass-thumping backers.

Which begs the question, when did the audience start dressing like the players?

Bill Fitsell, a hockey historian living in Kingston, remembers what was worn when he attended his first Toronto Maple Leafs game in 1936. “I went with my father and his co-workers from the bakery,” Fitsell recalls, “and they were all dressed in coats, shirts and ties…And they wore fedoras.”

Fitsell, who was 12 at the time, says, “I probably wore corduroy in what the golfers used to wear, you know, plus fours.”

Though, he was of the first people in his town to own a knitted Maple Leafs sweaters from the Eaton’s catalogue, Fitsell did not wear it with his schoolboy britches.

“I don’t remember seeing in the Thirties any [hockey] sweaters [on fans],” says Fitsell. “You would never wear it to a game.”

In the decades that followed, dress standards relaxed but jerseys remained rare. Footage and photographs from the infamous 1979 “Over the Glass” incident at Madison Square Garden reveals not one uniform in the stands. Except those belonging to Bruin Mike Milbury’s and his Boston teammates as they rampaged through the Rangers fans.

Those poor souls came to the rink attired as non-combatants. Indeed, the clothes is distinctly civilian and non-committal nature: down vests, plaid shirts, denim jackets, and floppy newsboy caps. They could have been cheering for anyone.

In 2012, J.P. Martel, the president of the Society of International Hockey Researchers who recently suggested the birthplace of organized ice hockey is in England instead of Canada, believes he may have stumbled across “a defining moment” in the history of jersey wearing.

While reviewing footage from all the championship series involving Canadian teams, Martel noticed a trend of fans wearing sweaters through the 1980s. Martel says it started with “no more than a handful” wearing team togs.

Then in 1989 the Calgary Flames faced off against the Montreal Canadiens and the trend caught fire. Flames fans donned the team’s road colours en masse.

To double check, Martel went back to Edmonton’s 1988 win. No jerseys there. But in the 1989 games, it was unmistakable, the team hues filled the Saddledome: white, yellow, and the legendary Sea of Red.

“I became convinced I was right,”says Martel,“A new tradition was born.”

Theo Fleury, as a rookie member of that Flames squad, recalls the impact of those fans. Without them, says Fleury, it would have just been “a beer league game.”

“In ‘89, we only lost four home games,” says Fleury. “So, obviously, there is something to be said. It wasn’t a fun building to play in for the visiting team.”

From his on-ice perspective, Fleury says the impact was more auditory than visual.

Nevertheless, Fleury knew at the time the Sea of Red “was here to stay.”

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But before we accept 1989 as the landmark season, Wayne Renick, president and CEO of Jersey City, a chain of sports apparel stores headquartered in Calgary, wants you to consider another Calgary run: the heart-breaking 2004 campaign that ended with Tampa Bay as the victors.

In that playoff, the Sea of Red morphed into the Red Mile. Calgarians converted Electric Avenue into a Mardi Gras-like strip where celebrants sported the flamboyant “C” logo on everything from bikini tops to butt tattoos.

Of course, there were sweaters. Lots of them.“Everyone wanted a jersey,” Renick says. “We had lineups out the door before every game.”

The sweaty 2004 frenzy may have led to a sports-attire gender barrier coming down. On the Red Mile, “it became cool for women to wear jerseys.”

Perhaps. But they’re not nearly cool enough for the lower bowl attendees at Staples. As Renick observes, “There’s no mistake when you’re wearing a jersey, who you are cheering for.”

Perhaps, a silver and black tide isn’t possible in LA.

Perhaps, the visual ambiguity and aloofness of the Kings crowd is unavoidable. It is the dignified trait of great artists but not so great fans.

Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland scored goals 17 seconds apart late in the third period Monday to give the Chicago Blackhawks the Stanley Cup in an amazing 3-2 last-minute comeback win over Boston in Game 6.

Milan Lucic’s third-period goal had seemed to give the Bruins a 2-1 victory and a new lease of life in the final.

But with Chicago goalie Corey Crawford out for an extra attacker, Bickell scored at 18:44 after the Bruins failed to get the puck out of the zone.

Bolland then put them ahead at 19:01, stunning the Bruins and the crowd at TD Garden.

Jonathan Toews, reduced to a spectator the final minutes of Game 5, added a goal and an assist for Chicago as the Blackhawks clawed their way back into the game. He was the first to hoist the Cup as his teammates jumped up and down.

Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesAfter opening the shortened NHL season with 27 games without a regulation loss, Jonathan Toews, above, and the Chicago Blackhawks get to spend the summer with the Stanley Cup.

Crawford finished with 23 saves in the victory that marked Chicago’s fifth championship and second in four years.

Chris Kelly had the other goal for Boston, while Tuukka Rask made 28 saves. The Bruins offence was limited by a power play that went 0-for-4 on the night.

Lucic had taken advantage of a Crawford handling error behind the goal to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 12:11. The bruising forward disrupted the Chicago goalie and when the puck came back in front of the net from David Krejci in the corner, Lucic wristed it in. Linemate Nathan Horton did his bit in front of the goal to complicate things for Chicago.

The Bruins had their way with the Blackhawks in the first period, but only managed to turn dominance that into a 1-0 lead. Chicago rallied in the second to tie it up and make a contest out of it.

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The players also to contend with searing summer heat in the low 30s that did little for the ice. It was warmer in Beantown than Libya. A thin layer of fog was visible over the ice as the Bruins started their morning skate over some bumpy ice.

Monday matched the deepest the Stanley Cup playoffs have stretched into the summer. New Jersey capped its sweep of Detroit on June 24, 1995, in the last lockout-shortened season.

The last time the Cup was presented on Boston ice was in 1990 when John Muckler’s Edmonton Oilers defeated Mike Milbury’s Bruins four games to one. Craig Simpson, who was in CBC’s commentary booth for the 2013 final, scored the winning goal. Milbury is a studio analyst for NBC.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was once again booed after the game. Chicago sniper Patrick Kane won the Conn Smythe award as playoff MVP

Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesPatrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins leans over on the ice against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Six of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 24, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The final, the first to feature Original Six teams since Montreal defeated the New York Rangers in 1979, did not disappoint.

There were three overtime games and plenty of drama as the speed and skill of Chicago was matched against the hard-hitting Bruins who balanced talent with truculence. But in truth, both teams had a bit of everything including clutch goaltending and a high pain threshold.

Chicago’s Marian Hossa and Boston’s Nathan Horton were just two of those who were playing hurt.

If Chicago is a sleek Porsche, Boston is a muscle car. Both have power, but one was built to give and take some more knocks.

Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesThe Chicago Blackhawks pose with the Stanley Cup Trophy after defeating the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 24, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2.

Going into Game 6, Chicago led in shots (204-175) and goals (14-13). Boston had the edge in hits (237-176).

Chicago, with a full-season salary tab of US$79.8 million, ranked fourth in the league in payroll. Boston was eighth at $73.2.

The Blackhawks become the first team in the salary cap era to win the Cup twice.

Chicago also won the Cup in 2010, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. Given the Hawks’ recent success, it is easy to forget that the 2010 championship was the first for Chicago since 1961 — at the time the league’s longest active Stanley Cup drought.

The parents of a New Hampshire teenager who was assaulted and forcibly tattooed on the buttocks by four older students during school hours have filed suit against the school district.LITTLETON, New Hampshire — The parents of a New Hampshire teenager who was assaulted and forcibly tattooed on the buttocks by four older students during school hours have filed suit against the school district.
Michael and Tammy Austin are seeking unspecified damages from the district in Concord, New Hampshire, which they say failed to provide a safe environment for their son and to protect him from bullying in the May 2010 incident.
A group of older students lured the boy, who was 14 at the time, to a house near Concord High School, where they tattooed a picture of a penis and the words 'Poop Dick' on his buttocks, according to the lawsuit filed in Merrimack County Superior Court.
[np-related]
"We believe they had a duty to protect, and they failed in that task," Stephen Duggan, an attorney for the parents, said in an interview this week.
"The end result is he was physically assaulted with this horrendous tattoo. While modern medicine will allow it to be removed to some degree, the emotional scars will live on."
The victim, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, suffered further emotional distress after other students took pictures of the tattoo and circulated them on cell phones. He was also subject to bullying on Facebook after the incident, the complaint said.
The school exacerbated the situation by calling an assembly on bullying on the victim's first day back at school after the incident, it said. Following the assembly, he was further harassed and bullied, the complaint said.
The suit said school officials failed to fulfill a promise to provide chaperones for the boy, who had a history of skipping classes, to make sure he got from one class to the next.
A trial is scheduled for October, with school officials to be deposed in July. The lawsuit was filed in July 2011 but just started to receive media attention this week.
The school district has responded that it acted properly and that the students who participated in the tattooing were at fault.
"It's an unfortunate case and particularly an unfortunate case for the school district," said Charles Bauer, a lawyer for the school system. "There were four individuals convicted criminally of the assault. The school district took all appropriate actions before and after the incident."
Donald Wyman, then 21, Blake Vannest, then 19, and two minors bullied the Austin's son for months prior to the incident, calling him insulting names, the complaint said.
In 2010 they all pleaded guilty to criminal charges stemming from the tattoo incident and were sentenced to serve between three days and six months in jail.

The franchise had to shed players in the wake of that Cup run because of salary cap issues. But once again it finds itself celebrating on enemy ice, thanks to GM Stan Bowman’s refreshing of the roster.

Krejci had nine goals and 12 assists in the first three rounds of the playoffs but only managed two assists in the first five games of the final. That was two more points than Brad Marchand, who led the team in scoring this season.

Tyler Seguin, fourth on the team in scoring during the season, was 11th on the team going into Monday’s game with one playoff goal and six assists.

If the Leafs win the Cup then all of Canada should shut down for one week and PARTY.

@16jesse31

The Leafs have as much of a chance of winning the Cup as I have finding Bigfoot riding a wildebeest on my front porch.

@Josh_Clory

‏Not the Leafs, definitely not the Leafs.

@alexcerne

[The Leafs?] No Freaking Way! (Now what do I do with the other 72 words?)

@WerdnaYatlor

Pittsburgh Penquins

My five-year-old grandson says Pittsburgh will win the Cup and since he is the smartest boy on Earth, I know he must be right.

John M. Daniels, Toronto.

Go Habs go

#goghabsgo … of course :)

@rob_bieber

A vote for the Wings

I have been a Detroit Red Wings fan since the early 1960s and will be pulling for them, even though I have lost interest in hockey as the season is too long. Up until 1967 when there were only six teams playing 70 regular season games, the playoffs would end in the third week in April and one could then turn his attention to baseball. Now there is too much overlapping with hockey not ending till June, with baseball extending its season to the end of October or early November when the regular season of hockey starts.

John Clubine, Toronto.

Love the Blues

St. Louis — at least that’s what I’d like to see.

‏@KevRolfe

Blackhawks can deal with the goons

The team that can minimize the impact of the opposing team’s goons. My guess is the Chicago Blackhawks. Most goons will pick on premier players with the intent to injure them, thus necessitating their own goons to react, Chicago seems to be able to handle this. I very seldom view a complete game anymore, as soon as these brain-injured morons start fighting

Don Forbes, Stittsville, Ont.

Let’s hear it for Team Fan

How about Team Fan, who suffered through a truncated, lacklustre season, notable only for the pontificating belligerency of both sides of the strike — all of whom exhibited glaring contempt for their fans. Give us heroic players and exciting teams — a narrative worthy of our sticking with you. Bar the door, Reimer.

Moishe (Thomas) Goldstein, Toronto.

We don’t care

I used to be a huge hockey fan years back, the lockout this season was the final straw, I have not watched one game and could care less.

Steve Flanagan, Ottawa.

I have better things to do with my time than invest some of it into those during the regular season, are over paid, and over indulged. Winter has gone on too long here in Edmonton for me to stay indoors when the NHL playoffs are on.

David W. Lincoln, Edmonton.

Who cares? It will just be one collection of uneducated goons and thugs out-gooning and out-thugging another. The NHL is simply the bad joke among professional sports.

Hugh Whittington, Stevensville, Ont.

Which team will win the cup? Frankly, my dear …

Malcolm Bell, Lions Bay, B.C.

There are other Cups

Clearly the St. Bonaventure Leafs of the North York Knights of Columbus house league hockey club, minor peewee division.

@davidwills

The Zambian national soccer team, the Chipolopolos (The Copper Bullets), will win the FIFA World Cup. They were the Africa Cup of Nations champions in 2012. Enough ice hockey coverage already!

Derek Wilson, Port Moody, B.C.

Bayern Munich. History says so — four time European champions from nine appearances in the final, with two losses in the last three finals. Their opponents are fellow Germans Borussia Dortmund who have only one championship win from their single previous appearance in the final. Dortmund’s youthful swagger will be going up against Bayern’s current machine like efficiency, but Bayern had the edge in three close contests between the teams in German domestic competition this season.

Ian Molyneaux, Oakville, Ont.

The winner will clearly be the 10-year-olds of the Leaside Flames. The Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup was created by Lord Stanley in 1893 as a challenge trophy for the best team in Canada. We have issued our challenge to the LA Kings to show up at Leaside Arena for a game. Chances are they will be a no show. Then we will sue the NHL, the Kings for the right to play the challenge game. The Supreme Court will OK the game 15 years later. The Flames will be 25, the Kings 40. Flames win.

David Harris, Toronto.

Other responses

‏Is the strike over?

@LizardG

In the past 20 years 16 NHL seasons have ended on American rinks, meaning the deciding game of the final. There were no riots or disturbances. One season was lost to an NHL labour dispute. Three ended on Canadian rinks and all were followed by riots.. Montreal in 1993 had a riot even though they won the Cup. Vancouver had the next on in 1994 after losing to the Rangers. Vancouver had the last one in 2011 when they lost to Boston and Vancouver’s police heroes were caught by surprise in spite of the 1994 riot. There were few arrests aside from rioters who posted themselves on youtube In all cases, the police collapsed and unarmed Canadians could not deter rioters in the first place. I don’t care who wins the cup as long as they do it on a Canadian rink this year.

Jim Morrow, Ottawa.

Q: Which team will win the Cup? A: The winning team.

E.W. Bopp, Tsawwassen, B.C.

No team should be a favourite heading into the playoffs, where anything can happen. This year, four Canadian teams have qualified for the playoffs — the Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs — but fans and analysts already have their so-called Stanley Cup favourites, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. Last year the Penguins were labelled Stanley Cup favourites and look what happened. The playoffs are a whole new season and no team should be held to a lower standard.

Much angst, and ink, has been spilled in recent years over fighting in hockey. Progressives say ban fighting. Traditionalists say
‘over our dead bodies.’ A moral debate rages. Yet what seldom gets asked is: How does fighting affect a team’s performance?
Does toughness win games? Is meting out an ugly black eye as valuable as scoring a pretty goal?
Let’s drop the gloves, shall we, and look at the numbers.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/graphic-fighting-in-canadian-hockey/feed1galleryNA0427_HockeyFights_620NA0427_HockeyFights_940Full Pundit: Nothing is more important than a fair trialhttp://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/full-pundit-nothing-is-more-important-than-a-fair-trial
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/full-pundit-nothing-is-more-important-than-a-fair-trial#commentsFri, 21 Dec 2012 17:05:44 +0000http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/?p=101819

Of head coverings and fishThe Supreme Court weighs in on two hot button issues. Well, one and a half anyway.

The Supreme Court’s “balancing rules” when it comes to whether or not a woman can testify in court while wearing a niqab “are akin to parking a tank on one side of a seesaw,” Emmett Macfarlane writes for Maclean’s. We couldn’t have put it better. (We didn’t, actually.) By emphasizing the question of whether a witness’s testimony is contested, what appears to be a framework for permissiveness basically rules out testifying-while-veiled in, for example, “the vast majority of sexual assault cases” — such as the one that brought about this judgment in the first place. Macfarlane believes the majority ruling is not just “unworkable,” but likely unnecessary: He seems largely to agree with Justice Abela’s dissent, which argues that a niqab is analogous to any number of other routine impediments to communication. And if it discourages Muslim women from seeking justice, he thinks it could be potentially harmful.

Sheema Khan, writing in TheGlobe and Mail, seems to think the judgment, which she says “strikes a reasonable balance between competing rights,” is considerably more permissive than Macfarlane or we believe it is. Barbara Kayin the National Post, Lorrie Goldsteinin the Sun Media papers, and the Sun Media editorialistsare disappointed the Supreme Court didn’t institute an outright ban on testifying while veiled. Honestly, we think they got nearly that, albeit in a rather complicated format. (The Globe‘s editorialists think they could have been much clearer, and we tend to agree.)

As the Toronto Star‘seditorialists approvinglyput it, “in practice this ruling may result in Muslim women only rarely, rather than routinely, being allowed to provide central evidence while veiled in serious criminal cases.” In fact, given the weight the majority put on the accused’s right to confront his accuser and the importance of facial cues in testimony, we have a hard time seeing how it would ever be allowed. The Ottawa Citizen‘s editorialists seem to be the permissive outliers here. “The majority opinion suggests that allowing the niqab should be the default position,” they write. (We agree. That’s what makes it a bit of an odd read, given the restrictive nature of the opinion itself.) And they hope judges deviate from that position “sparingly.” We don’t think they’re going to get their wish.

Postmedia’s Christie Blatchfordnotes another significant Supreme Court ruling handed down Thursday, which put an unfortunate end to Phil Eidsvik’s long battle to highlight the total lack of enforcement of the native fishery on the Fraser River and push, by extension, for equality under the law. “By expert reckoning even the courts acknowledge more than 90% of the fish was feeding neither aboriginal families nor cultural ritual, but rather was being illegally sold,” Blatchford writes. And it’ll keep happening. She likens it to Caledonia.

World fails to end, Mayans blamelessThe Globe‘s editorialists try to read some meaning into the whole Mayan apocalypse thing, without much success in our view. The Post‘s Jonathan Kay plays it for laughs in his special message from the editorial board, and succeeds. “For a good long while, humans have been the best thing going in this solar system — nay, the galaxy — bringing a dose of adorable, in-your-face zaniness to an otherwise bleak Milky Way,” he writes. “If this universe had an Ikea Monkey, surely ‘twas us.”

Colby Cosh of Maclean’s is simply frustrated at all the ignorance: “The earliest ‘Mayan’ inscriptions using the calendar go back to shortly before the time of Christ; they were well aware of historic timescales, clearly did not regard a b’ak’tun rollover as the end of history, and, who knows, might have celebrated their ‘millennium’ much as we celebrated ours, give or take a bit of animal sacrifice here and there.” Duh.

Duly notedPaul Wells of Maclean’s notes Stephen Harper’s “fascinating” transformation from someone who seemed to believe “English Canada had bent itself into pretzels in a doomed attempt to accommodate French Quebec” into someone who would claim on Quebec television to have “given more space to French than any prime minister in the history of the country.” Harper is not “a blue meanie who hates French,” says Wells, but in his view that’s a pretty ridiculous statement. “That he rationalizes [his ideological] journey by exaggerating its extent is what card players would call a ‘tell,’” says Wells.

The Star‘s editorialists throw their estimable weight behind the Spirit Challenge Cup, which calls itself “a 2013 tournament to potentially award the Stanley Cup to the best amateur hockey team playing in Canada.” The name’s a bit odd: Why call it the Spirit Challenge Cup if it’s a tournament for the Stanley Cup? But no matter! The Cup must be awarded if the NHL refuses to do so, and we scarcely care how. Parliamentarians, please wake up and do something useful for a change.

If the 2012-2013 National Hockey League season is lost because owners and players can’t figure out a suitable way to split billions in revenue somewhat improbably derived from grown men on skates trying to shoot a rubber disc into a net, the Stanley Cup will almost certainly not be awarded for the second time in less than a decade. Realistically it is likely too late to undertake the process of negotiation, threats, litigation and planning that would see it willingly awarded to some other team — most logically the best amateur hockey team in Canada, which was Lord Stanley’s idea in the first place.

This is beyond frustrating. The Cup does not belong to the NHL; rather, the NHL awards it under the terms of a 1947 agreement with the Cup’s trustees. And a group of recreational hockey players won an important, explicit concession from the league during the last lockout: There is nothing preventing the trustees from awarding the Cup to a club of its choosing if the NHL decides not to award it to anyone.

As it happens, the current trustees, Scotty Morrison and Brian O’Neill, are both former NHL vice-presidents, and their opinion is clear: NHL or bust. Mr. O’Neill went so far as to suggest any other competition would “demean” the trophy. In the midst of the current debate over whether a fourth-line plug should make, say, $875,000 or $905,000 per annum, I can’t think of anything that would redeem it more.

It so happens we have a reputed hockey historian for a Prime Minister. One might therefore, and because it’s difficult to think of a lower-risk political play, expect him to take an interest in enforcing Canada’s moral (at least) ownership of the Stanley Cup. But offered a perfect opportunity to do so in an interview this week with TVA’s Pierre Bruneau, he simply expressed his “sadness” at the “broken relationships” between the players and owners. (He might have spared a thought, too, for the many non-millionaire service industry employees who are taking a huge hit during the lockout.)

Instead it fell to Conservative Edmonton backbencher Brent Rathgeber to make the case. “If the 2012-2013 NHL Season is unsalvageable, I propose that the trustees exercise [their] discretion and award the Stanley Cup to the best amateur or beer league or women’s or sledge hockey team in Canada,” he wrote on his website. “That would allow the trustees to fulfill their obligation to exercise their duties in the best interests of the original purpose of the trust, which was to promote amateur hockey in Canada.”

He concluded: “If the lockout is not resolved by the end of January, perhaps a Private Member’s Motion…”

It is commendable that Mr. Rathgeber has, too late, stepped up. But his tone is insufficiently strident: Perhaps a private member’s motion? He proposes? If “the Stanley Cup belongs to Canadians,” as the title of his blog post suggests, then we need demands, not proposals, and purposeful irritation rather than cheeky suggestions. And where on earth are his fellow MPs? Getting behind this issue carries with it about as much political risk as opposing puppy-torture. It is to our credit that Canadians are generally slow to anger. But is hockey our national sport or isn’t it? Is the Stanley Cup the symbol of that, or isn’t it?

Whatever happens with the NHL season, it is important that this debate be allowed to follow its course to the end. Efforts to establish the legal status of the Cup, and to determine suitable Canadian contenders for it in the absence of an NHL season, should continue so that a scenario is ready to go the next time the NHL and its players decide to shoot each other in their respective feet. The simplest option might be a tournament, held in June, comprising the champions of Canada’s major junior, university and senior leagues.

In theory, they could hold that tournament anyway this June. If the NHL season dies, the winning team could lay perpetual claim to 2013’s engravings on the Stanley Cup. They would be the protagonists in the battle to repatriate the trophy. And if the NHL did manage to salvage the season, it would go forward on notice: Next time, we’re not letting you pull this outrageous stunt unopposed.

As a Christmas present to all hockey-crazed Canadians, I am asking Governor General David Johnston to free the Stanley Cup from the grip of the NHL and its two puppet trustees.
I’m asking Mr. Johnston to do this, since he’s a successor to Lord Stanley of Preston, who was appointed Canadian governor-general in 1888. In 1909, he donated the trophy that still bears his name, to be awarded to Canada’s best amateur hockey club. (Decades later, it became the de facto championship trophy of the NHL.)
Being Canadians (and natural compromisers), we could allow the NHL to keep it in regular years, but in strike years, we can open the competition up to a challenge format, as was intended.
Both France and England have this format for their respective soccer championships (with the Coupe de France and the FA Cup). Jean Marier, Montreal.

Some people deserve to die

Re: Death Penalty: Barbaric, Backward — And Popular, letter to the editor, Dec. 13.
Letter-writer Emile Therien’s states that morality is the only real issue in respect to the death penalty. I agree with that, but my morality concludes that the death penalty is justified in certain cases. Murderers can remain a deadly threat even when they are behind bars. In the same issue as Mr. Therien’s letter, there is a report of a jailed murderer in New Mexico sending two released criminals to castrate and murder Justin Bieber. In B.C., a jailed multiple murderer recently killed his cellmate, simply because he enjoyed killing. And then there is Peter Woodcock, who was sentenced to 35 years for killing two young children in Toronto. At the end of his sentence, he killed and dismembered another inmate before he left prison.
Had these murderers been executed, innocent people would have been saved. I resent every nickel of tax I have paid to house, feed and clothe the likes of Clifford Olson or Peter Woodcock. My morality places me with the substantial majority of Canadians who approve of the death penalty, in appropriate cases. Brian Purdy, Calgary.

F-35 alternatives

Re: The Jet Devils We Don’t Know, John Ivison, Dec. 14.
John Ivison ends his column on the F-35s costs by stating, “If we accept we need the capability to police our own half of the continent … then we should just suck it up and stop whining about the cost.”
But why do we have to accept that premise? Who are we protecting ourselves from? The Americans? What will a few F-35s do against their massive war machine? The Russians? The Americans wouldn’t let them near us, lest we become another Cuba? The Chinese? See above.
So I suggest we take half the expected cost of the new jets and pay the Yanks to provide us with air defence. And that should not be a blow to our national pride. After all, the Americans now rely on the Russians to get them into space.
The question is not about which jet, it’s about jet vs. no jet. Bruce Antonello, Waterloo, Ont.

It is possible to find a replacement for the F-25 that will be cheaper to buy and operate. Simply cut in half the number of new fighters and replace them with drones. Then we could spend the billions we save on education and health. Brian Timmins, Knowlton, Que.

The day of the jet fighter is really numbered; they will soon be overtaken by robotics. Our government should instead be investing in drone fighter planes. If we had leaders, rather than followers, this is exactly the direction Canada would be heading, marrying Canada’s strengths in robotics with a new generation of flying inventions.
Fighter jets, as we knew them, are old technology. Zell Goodbaum, Toronto.

Open for business

Re: The Unions’ Own Worst Enemy, editorials, Dec. 14.
With Tuesday’s vote on right-to-work legislation, the great state of Michigan just hung an “open for business” sign on their front door. Shame we Canadians don’t have that kind of political will.
Karen Turner, New Westminster, B.C.
Gun registry saved no lives
Re: Gun Registry Was A ‘Well-Run Program,’ letters to the editor, Dec. 14; Why The Long-Gun Registry Doesn’t Work — And Never Did, Gary Mauser, Dec. 11.
The two letters knocking Gary Mauser’s insightful article indicates that some people “don’t get reality.” Indeed, some guns are long and some guns are short, but allow me to say it one more time: criminals don’t register guns and even registered guns are used by deranged people from time to time. If Quebec decides to run its own gun registry, it will be another example of throwing away tax dollars for a chimera. Andy Neimers, Digby Neck, N.S.

In her defence of the now-defunct long-gun registry, letter-writer Sheryl Lipton experiences two serious disconnects in logic. She first asks of Prof. Mauser, “What percentage of spousal homicide would justify a registry?” Keeping in mind that purchase of a firearm of any kind still requires a licence, complete with background checks and spousal permission, could Ms. Lipton enlighten us by explaining just how the deposition of a gun’s serial number in a computer file in New Brunswick will prevent a disturbed individual from using that gun to injure or kill a spouse or anyone else?
Ms. Lipton goes on to suggest that, since the most dangerous criminals have unregistered firearms, the obvious solution is for all firearms, not just long guns, to be registered. Notwithstanding the fact that legal handguns have been registered since 1934, it seems that we simply need to invite all criminals to stop by their closest police station on Jan. 1 to register their firearms. Why didn’t we think of this before? W.G. Hopkins, Granton, Ont.

Another success

Re: Jim & Joanne Chu, 50 Years Later, Laura Madokoro, Dec. 12.
Jim and Joanne Chu’s success story is eminently worth celebrating; however, we have a huge success story here in Toronto, as well.
Shirley Hoy, who arrived in Canada at the age of seven with her brother David (now an engineer), was the first Chinese-Canadian to become the CEO of the former Metropolitan Toronto Corporation and later the city manager of the amalgamated City of Toronto.
After retirement, she is now the CEO of the Toronto Lands Corporation, sits on the governing council of the University of Toronto and on the board of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, as well as the United Way.
Not an insignificant feat for a seven-year-old who landed in North Bay not knowing a word of English.
Toronto should celebrate its own success stories more often. Gordon J. Chong, Toronto.

Fun with words

Re: No Business? Then No Charity For You, John McKay, Dec. 13.
Liberal MP John McKay says the new Canadian International Development Agency policy regarding foreign development assistance, “seems more like ideology than principled policy.”
First I thought, what is the difference? Then I realized that principles is what I have, and ideology is what my political opponents have. Randall Golhof, Vancouver.

Fun with numbers

Re: What’s The Most Dangerous Job? Ask Obama, letter to the editor, Dec. 14.
Jonathan Berkowitz’s letter certainly shows how a statistician like himself can manipulate statistics. His example compares the rate of assassination of presidents, during their time in office, as 9.3%, and compares this with the rate of death of fishermen on an annual basis. To get a proper comparison, he should compare the death rate of presidents on an annual basis. Assuming an average term of 5.2 years (43 presidents since 1789), the annual death rate becomes about 1.8%; still rather high, of course, but only about 10 times the death rate of fishermen. Julian Swann, Ottawa.

Band wars

Re: ‘If Rush Deserves A Seat In The Hall Of Fame, The Guess Who Deserves The Stage,’ letter to the editor, Dec. 14.
Arguments akin to “your band sucks because mine is better” belong in the schoolyard, not the newspaper. Music appreciation is not a zero sum game. Furthermore, the author’s CanCon invocations make no sense. Rush had little to no radio support in its early days, in Canada or elsewhere. Its success was earned one live show, one record sale, at a time. Ironically, there are perhaps no two better examples than Rush and The Guess Who of Canadian bands that would most certainly have made it without forced airplay at home. And for what it’s worth, I enjoy them both. Dave Cosgrave, Toronto.

An important principle was confirmed during the National Hockey League lockout eight years ago, as a result of legal action launched on behalf of two Toronto recreational hockey players — namely, that there is nothing to stop the Stanley Cup trustees from awarding the trophy to a non-NHL team, in the event that the league decides it can’t be bothered to hold a competition for it. The Cup does not “belong to the NHL.” Unfortunately, it ended at that: NHL hockey came back, and perhaps we were foolish enough to believe it would never go away again.

Now, here we are, with another season at risk because the owners and players cannot decide how best to divvy up some $3.2-billion in annual revenues. The first two weeks of the regular season have been cancelled, and the two sides seem to be proceeding with a remarkable nonchalance.

Moreover, the trustees have made it very clear that any other would-be contenders can get stuffed. “It’s just not going to happen,” trustee Brian O’Neill, coincidentally a former NHL vice-president, told The Canadian Press recently. “The Stanley Cup should be awarded to the top National Hockey League team, which has been determined to be the top league in the world. … Anything less than that would demean the trophy.”

We suspect Lord Stanley, who donated the Cup intending it to be awarded to Canada’s top amateur team, would disagree. Considering Canadians gave the NHL its most revered and bankable symbol, the league has taken their lockstep support very much for granted in recent years. But we wish to see the Cup awarded not out of spite, but out of a love for the game that vastly transcends the corporate sphere.

Many scenarios have been suggested, but we suggest going back to first principles: Every year dozens of major junior, university and senior AAA teams compete for the love of the game. It should be relatively easy to have their champions compete amongst each other to determine Canada’s best amateur team. Far from “demeaning” the Cup, it would go down as one of the finest chapters in its history. Parliament should study Canada’s legal claim to the trophy, even if only for future reference, the next time the NHL loses its collective mind.

With the NHL lockout now upon us, we must address a pressing matter that my former colleague Colby Cosh identified a few weeks ago: The infuriating possibility that the Stanley Cup will not be awarded to anyone. I agree with Cosh that this must not be allowed to happen again, just on general principle. Though the Cup’s ownership is up for debate, it certainly does not belong to the National Hockey League. Its original purpose — to adorn the trophy case of Canada’s best amateur hockey club — is quite clear. When challenged on the matter during the 2004-05 lockout, the league even conceded that “nothing … precludes the [Cup] Trustees from exercising their power to award the Stanley Cup to a non-NHL team in any year in which the NHL fails to organize a competition to determine a Stanley Cup winner.”

“We can manage a half-decent riot when a Canadian team loses the Stanley Cup in a fair fight,” Cosh lamented. “But for some reason, when the Cup is openly confiscated by billionaires, dangled in front of young Canadian hockey players and mothballed when they refuse to give back a piece of their paycheques, we do nothing but mope.”

The problem is, moping is entirely justified. There are serious logistical and philosophical concerns involved in most of the proposals you’ll hear. Among various scenarios, Cosh imagines European teams taking a “one-time crack” at the Cup; but of course, those teams have their own seasons to play at home. The idea of HC Amur Khabarovsk piling aboard some rickety propeller plane across the Pacific to challenge for the Cup has a nice nostalgic ring to it. But it’s not a very logical way to award the Cup if all or most of the other KHL teams stay home.

Cosh also suggests NHL players could form their own teams — “Sid’s Kids,” “Toews’ Waves” — and play each other. But if they did, we can be certain they would not take it seriously — not even with the Cup on the line, let’s face it, because the winners wouldn’t really think of themselves as having won the Cup in any concrete sense. Frankly, I doubt many of them would even touch the thing in such circumstances, lest they jinx their chances at winning it “for real.” The only time you’ll get NHL players to give 100% against each other for free is at the Olympics. If you forced me to choose between not awarding the Cup and awarding it to a team of millionaires skating at half speed, I’d be hard pressed to decide.

I only see one practical, meaningful way to make this happen: In the event the NHL decides not to award the Stanley Cup, it should be awarded to its original intended recipient: the best amateur team in Canada. If we restricted entrants to the highest level of amateur competition, this would require very little extra hockey to be played. Every game between Canadian teams in the Western, Ontario and Quebec Major Junior hockey league seasons could double as a “regular season” game in the Cup competition; likewise every Canadian Interuniversity Sport game, and every game in the senior leagues. Then you would just have a brief cup-winners’ cup tournament.

You could make it slightly or vastly more complicated, if you wanted, by including Junior A, Junior B or even beer league teams. Once each league (or tier of leagues) had determined its champion, then you’d play them off against each other until you were left with one. I’m just spitballing here, but you could have a six-team tournament with two spots reserved for major junior teams, two for university sides, one for a senior team and one wildcard — the spot to which the Junior A-to-beer league entrants could aspire. Then you play a five-game round robin schedule, and then you pit the two top teams against each other in a seven-game final.

For elite players, anyway, you would have added a maximum of 12 games to their schedule, and for a heck of a payoff: A very important point of principle would have been made, and Canadians would have been encouraged not to abandon the game they love simply because the NHL did, but rather to rediscover the simpler, cheaper pleasures of the lower leagues.

Certainly at the simpler end of the spectrum, it is altogether doable. And if the NHL ends up playing a 2012-13 season, no effort would have been wasted. In fact, we’d have a concrete plan to implement quickly the next time this madness comes to pass. Still, the odds are massively stacked against this happening in as complacent a country as Canada. For it to have a chance, we need to start beating the drums now. Parliament will likely need to get involved, as Cosh says. If we have to send the Army into the Hockey Hall of Fame to grab the thing, then so be it. It’ll dovetail nicely with the War of 1812 commemorations.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Police Department has tracked down three people in the U.S. suspected of taking part in the June 2011 Stanley Cup riot.

The suspects are in Washington, Alaska and one is believed to be in Illinois. A Canada-wide warrant for participation in a riot and other charges has been issued for their arrests, said Vancouver Police Constable Brian Montague.

“All three are aware that there is warrant out for them right now,” said Montague, who added the suspects were told of the warrant by their local police and know they will be arrested if they try to enter Canada.

NEWARK, N.J. — With free agency looming in less than three weeks, New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise has crossed the rival Rangers off his list of potential future employers.

Meeting with the media for the first time since New Jersey lost the Stanley Cup in six games to the Los Angeles Kings two days ago, the 27-year-old Parise reiterated that he would like to continue playing for the Devils and would even consider signing before free agency starts on July with the right deal.

When asked if he’d play for the Rangers, a team New Jersey defeated in the postseason, he was short and simple: “No.”

“Don’t try to get a headline out of this,” Parise quipped Wednesday as the Devils cleaned out their lockers at the Prudential Center.

Related

Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said re-signing Parise, who earned in excess of US$5-million last season, would be a priority for the Eastern Conference champions.

Lamoriello also said it would be up to goaltender Martin Brodeur to decide whether he wants to return next season. If the 40-year-old goaltender is up for a 19th season, and he has indicated he is, the team will have a new contract for him.

Parise, who was called the heart of the Devils by coach Peter DeBoer, is the most important. Coming off a major knee injury that limited him to 13 games in 2010-11, he scored 31 goals in the regular season and added eight more in the postseason. He also was a penalty killer and relentless two-way player.

Parise, who refused to discuss his upcoming free agency in the regular season, does not have a timetable for getting a new deal. He also did not believe that his agent, Wade Arnott, and Lamoriello had contract talks during the season.

Lamoriello refused to comment on talks with Parise.

Arnott did not immediately answer an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on Pariseís free agency.

“We’re going to keep all that stuff between Lou and I, as we always have,” Parise said. “I’ve said all along I love playing here. I’ve always appreciated everything that this organization has done for me. My feelings have never changed.”

This is Parise’s first go-around with free agency and he said he intends to listen to his agents and try to enjoy it. However, he added he will make the final decision and it all won’t come down to money. It also will depend on being with a winner and getting along with a new coach and teammates if that is in the cards.

Parise often made comments during the season — as most of his teammates did — about how enjoyable an experience it was to work for DeBoer, who just finished his first season in New Jersey. Certainly that will play into the mix, as will the Devils’ run to the Stanley Cup finals.

On top of all that, Parise is just the ninth player in franchise history to wear the ‘C’ on his jersey. He’s often spoken on how proud he is of that honor, and many of those who came before him Bruce Driver, Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias, among them — have helped the organization to Stanley Cup titles. He’s yet to do that, of course, so that carrot is still out there for him.

“I’ll probably just shut off my phone and not talk to anybody and reflect on everything,” he said. “Everyone has opinions and rightfully so. Everyone has been through different things, but this is a decision I have to make on my own.”

Brodeur hopes the Devils will be able to keep Parise.

“I think he is the face of the Devils,” the veteran goaltender said.”He is a kid that people, they see him, and they see a Devil. They see the type of work ethic he has. And I said this after the game, first year as a captain, not too shabby to bring a team like us to the Stanley Cup finals, so it’s a big priority for the Devils to get him signed.”

Brodeur wants to talk to his family before deciding to return. Despite not winning the Cup for a fourth time, he said this was an unbelievable season and he was happy with the team and his own play.

He said the only thing that might change his mind would be playing three rounds of par golf before July 1.

Brodeur quickly laughed.

In other news after the now clean-shaven Devils took a team photo, Lamoriello said New Jersey would use the 29th pick in the NHL draft later this month. Many thought the Devils would forfeit the pick. The organization was docked a first-round choice by the league sometime over the next three years for trying to circumvent the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to what was ruled an illegal contract.

Lamoriello refused to explain the decision. The Devils might use the choice on a goaltender who Brodeur could mentor next season.

DeBoer confirmed that Kovalchuk had a back injury in the playoffs. The coach was not sure whether the 38-goal scorer would need surgery. He missed Game 2 of the second-round series vs. Philadelphia, and did not seem himself in the finals. He finished with 19 postseason points, best on the team, and third-highest in the league.

Salvador was unsure whether the Devils would offer him a new contract. However, he was happy to have played the season without missing a game just a year after sitting out a full season with a concussion. He is hoping for a multi-year deal.

Bernier said his teammates all came up to him and said he was not to blame for the loss in Game 6. He took a major boarding penalty in the first period, and the Kings all but decided the series by scoring three times on it.

Lamoriello said the hit was a penalty. Parise was still a little miffed about the penalty, saying it was unfortunate.

“Someone had an off day and that’s it,” he said. “It’s too bad because we played so hard and worked hard to get to that position. Unfortunately, we’re not playing today.”

NEWARK, N.J. — With free agency looming in less than three weeks, New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise has crossed the rival Rangers off his list of potential future employers.

Meeting with the media for the first time since New Jersey lost the Stanley Cup in six games to the Los Angeles Kings two days ago, the 27-year-old Parise reiterated that he would like to continue playing for the Devils and would even consider signing before free agency starts on July with the right deal.

When asked if he’d play for the Rangers, a team New Jersey defeated in the postseason, he was short and simple: “No.”

“Don’t try to get a headline out of this,” Parise quipped Wednesday as the Devils cleaned out their lockers at the Prudential Center.

Related

Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said re-signing Parise, who earned in excess of US$5-million last season, would be a priority for the Eastern Conference champions.

Lamoriello also said it would be up to goaltender Martin Brodeur to decide whether he wants to return next season. If the 40-year-old goaltender is up for a 19th season, and he has indicated he is, the team will have a new contract for him.

Parise, who was called the heart of the Devils by coach Peter DeBoer, is the most important. Coming off a major knee injury that limited him to 13 games in 2010-11, he scored 31 goals in the regular season and added eight more in the postseason. He also was a penalty killer and relentless two-way player.

Parise, who refused to discuss his upcoming free agency in the regular season, does not have a timetable for getting a new deal. He also did not believe that his agent, Wade Arnott, and Lamoriello had contract talks during the season.

Lamoriello refused to comment on talks with Parise.

Arnott did not immediately answer an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on Pariseís free agency.

“We’re going to keep all that stuff between Lou and I, as we always have,” Parise said. “I’ve said all along I love playing here. I’ve always appreciated everything that this organization has done for me. My feelings have never changed.”

This is Parise’s first go-around with free agency and he said he intends to listen to his agents and try to enjoy it. However, he added he will make the final decision and it all won’t come down to money. It also will depend on being with a winner and getting along with a new coach and teammates if that is in the cards.

Parise often made comments during the season — as most of his teammates did — about how enjoyable an experience it was to work for DeBoer, who just finished his first season in New Jersey. Certainly that will play into the mix, as will the Devils’ run to the Stanley Cup finals.

On top of all that, Parise is just the ninth player in franchise history to wear the ‘C’ on his jersey. He’s often spoken on how proud he is of that honor, and many of those who came before him Bruce Driver, Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias, among them — have helped the organization to Stanley Cup titles. He’s yet to do that, of course, so that carrot is still out there for him.

“I’ll probably just shut off my phone and not talk to anybody and reflect on everything,” he said. “Everyone has opinions and rightfully so. Everyone has been through different things, but this is a decision I have to make on my own.”

Brodeur hopes the Devils will be able to keep Parise.

“I think he is the face of the Devils,” the veteran goaltender said.”He is a kid that people, they see him, and they see a Devil. They see the type of work ethic he has. And I said this after the game, first year as a captain, not too shabby to bring a team like us to the Stanley Cup finals, so it’s a big priority for the Devils to get him signed.”

Brodeur wants to talk to his family before deciding to return. Despite not winning the Cup for a fourth time, he said this was an unbelievable season and he was happy with the team and his own play.

He said the only thing that might change his mind would be playing three rounds of par golf before July 1.

Brodeur quickly laughed.

In other news after the now clean-shaven Devils took a team photo, Lamoriello said New Jersey would use the 29th pick in the NHL draft later this month. Many thought the Devils would forfeit the pick. The organization was docked a first-round choice by the league sometime over the next three years for trying to circumvent the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to what was ruled an illegal contract.

Lamoriello refused to explain the decision. The Devils might use the choice on a goaltender who Brodeur could mentor next season.

DeBoer confirmed that Kovalchuk had a back injury in the playoffs. The coach was not sure whether the 38-goal scorer would need surgery. He missed Game 2 of the second-round series vs. Philadelphia, and did not seem himself in the finals. He finished with 19 postseason points, best on the team, and third-highest in the league.

Salvador was unsure whether the Devils would offer him a new contract. However, he was happy to have played the season without missing a game just a year after sitting out a full season with a concussion. He is hoping for a multi-year deal.

Bernier said his teammates all came up to him and said he was not to blame for the loss in Game 6. He took a major boarding penalty in the first period, and the Kings all but decided the series by scoring three times on it.

Lamoriello said the hit was a penalty. Parise was still a little miffed about the penalty, saying it was unfortunate.

“Someone had an off day and that’s it,” he said. “It’s too bad because we played so hard and worked hard to get to that position. Unfortunately, we’re not playing today.”

The NHL said goodbye to one of the greatest players in recent history on Thursday when Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom officially announced his retirement. While the announcement wasn’t a surprise, it was still a difficult moment for fans who’d become used to seeing him patrol the Red Wings blueline over the past 20 seasons.

Most hockey fans can recite the numbers by now: Lidstrom won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman seven times, was a first-team all-star 10 times, and won four Stanley Cups. But perhaps just as impressive, he leaves the game as one of the most respected players of his generation. Even in this cynical age, it seems as if nobody in the hockey world has a bad word to say about the classy superstar.

Related

June 17, 1989 The Red Wings select Lidstrom with the 53rd overall pick at a draft which is perhaps best remembered for the major traffic jam that apparently caused every team in the league to miss the first 52 picks.

Oct. 3, 1991 Lidstrom is a team-leading plus-2 in his NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, who immediately vow to only let him dominate them like that maybe 150 more times, max.

Jan. 20, 1996 A 25-year-old Lidstrom makes his NHL All-Star Game debut, then celebrates with fellow young all-stars Teemu Selanne and Jaromir Jagr by taking a few swigs of that weird bubbling elixir offered to them by a cackling Chris Chelios.

Nov. 3, 1999 A bored Lidstrom makes a bad decision in the defensive zone, just to see what it’s like.

June 13, 2002 By becoming the first European player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and conclusively disproving the theory that players from outside North American somehow lack the drive and toughness to win in the playoffs, Lidstrom is single-handedly responsible for turning every Coach’s Corner for the next decade into an identical seven-minute infomercial about defencemen not deflecting slapshots with their sticks.

Feb. 26, 2006 Lidstrom scores the winning goal as Sweden beats Finland 3-2 to capture the Olympic gold medal, causing you to sheepishly realize that because he plays for Detroit you’ve spent the past decade just kind of assuming he was actually Russian.

June 30, 2006 After Lidstrom signs an extension to remain with the Red Wings rather than become an unrestricted free agent, a disappointed Glen Sather wonders what he should do with the garbage bag full of dollar bills he’d spent the last week writing “eleven gajillionty” on with a magic marker.

Jan. 1, 2009 The Red Wings beat the Blackhawks to win the outdoor Winter Classic. After the game, Lidstrom tells reporters that he enjoyed playing in the Classic and would love to get the chance to play in another one someday, assuming it’s not against some team the Red Wings are obviously going to beat 15-0, in which case why bother.

April 11, 2010 Lidstrom ends the 2009-10 season with 49 points and a plus-23 rating, finishes fourth in Norris voting, and is named to the NHL’s second all-star team. Or, as it will later be unanimously remembered, the worst season of his career.

Dec. 15, 2010 In his 19th season in the league, Lidstrom finally records his first career hat trick, proving once and for all that there’s nothing a 40-year-old guy won’t do to cover up a receding hairline.

Jan. 18, 2011 League officials name Lidstrom a captain for the first ever NHL All-Star Game fantasy draft, after he’s the only player to show up with a draft list that isn’t just the words “Nicklas Lidstrom” printed 40 different times.

Nov. 11, 2011 Lidstrom takes part in a 3-0 victory over the Oilers to become the first player in NHL history to play in 900 career regular season wins, although critics point out that he still remains tied for dead last in career wins against the Detroit Red Wings.

Feb. 4, 2012 While he has become used to players expressing their admiration for him and urging him to continue playing, Lidstrom admits he still finds it kind of creepy when a wild-eyed Tim Thomas vows to randomly take a year off if he ever tries to retire.

May 31, 2012 As his retirement news conference winds down, Red Wings fans around the world are forced to accept the fact that for the first time in 20 years, Nicklas Lidstrom has done something to disappoint them.

The NHL said goodbye to one of the greatest players in recent history on Thursday when Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom officially announced his retirement. While the announcement wasn’t a surprise, it was still a difficult moment for fans who’d become used to seeing him patrol the Red Wings blueline over the past 20 seasons.

Most hockey fans can recite the numbers by now: Lidstrom won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman seven times, was a first-team all-star 10 times, and won four Stanley Cups. But perhaps just as impressive, he leaves the game as one of the most respected players of his generation. Even in this cynical age, it seems as if nobody in the hockey world has a bad word to say about the classy superstar.

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June 17, 1989 The Red Wings select Lidstrom with the 53rd overall pick at a draft which is perhaps best remembered for the major traffic jam that apparently caused every team in the league to miss the first 52 picks.

Oct. 3, 1991 Lidstrom is a team-leading plus-2 in his NHL debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, who immediately vow to only let him dominate them like that maybe 150 more times, max.

Jan. 20, 1996 A 25-year-old Lidstrom makes his NHL All-Star Game debut, then celebrates with fellow young all-stars Teemu Selanne and Jaromir Jagr by taking a few swigs of that weird bubbling elixir offered to them by a cackling Chris Chelios.

Nov. 3, 1999 A bored Lidstrom makes a bad decision in the defensive zone, just to see what it’s like.

June 13, 2002 By becoming the first European player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and conclusively disproving the theory that players from outside North American somehow lack the drive and toughness to win in the playoffs, Lidstrom is single-handedly responsible for turning every Coach’s Corner for the next decade into an identical seven-minute infomercial about defencemen not deflecting slapshots with their sticks.

Feb. 26, 2006 Lidstrom scores the winning goal as Sweden beats Finland 3-2 to capture the Olympic gold medal, causing you to sheepishly realize that because he plays for Detroit you’ve spent the past decade just kind of assuming he was actually Russian.

June 30, 2006 After Lidstrom signs an extension to remain with the Red Wings rather than become an unrestricted free agent, a disappointed Glen Sather wonders what he should do with the garbage bag full of dollar bills he’d spent the last week writing “eleven gajillionty” on with a magic marker.

Jan. 1, 2009 The Red Wings beat the Blackhawks to win the outdoor Winter Classic. After the game, Lidstrom tells reporters that he enjoyed playing in the Classic and would love to get the chance to play in another one someday, assuming it’s not against some team the Red Wings are obviously going to beat 15-0, in which case why bother.

April 11, 2010 Lidstrom ends the 2009-10 season with 49 points and a plus-23 rating, finishes fourth in Norris voting, and is named to the NHL’s second all-star team. Or, as it will later be unanimously remembered, the worst season of his career.

Dec. 15, 2010 In his 19th season in the league, Lidstrom finally records his first career hat trick, proving once and for all that there’s nothing a 40-year-old guy won’t do to cover up a receding hairline.

Jan. 18, 2011 League officials name Lidstrom a captain for the first ever NHL All-Star Game fantasy draft, after he’s the only player to show up with a draft list that isn’t just the words “Nicklas Lidstrom” printed 40 different times.

Nov. 11, 2011 Lidstrom takes part in a 3-0 victory over the Oilers to become the first player in NHL history to play in 900 career regular season wins, although critics point out that he still remains tied for dead last in career wins against the Detroit Red Wings.

Feb. 4, 2012 While he has become used to players expressing their admiration for him and urging him to continue playing, Lidstrom admits he still finds it kind of creepy when a wild-eyed Tim Thomas vows to randomly take a year off if he ever tries to retire.

May 31, 2012 As his retirement news conference winds down, Red Wings fans around the world are forced to accept the fact that for the first time in 20 years, Nicklas Lidstrom has done something to disappoint them.

Until this morning it was difficult to decide which was more embarrassing: the total inability of Canadian teams to win a Stanley Cup (17 years and counting), the usurpation of the game by a U.S.-based cabal centred on the Manhattan headquarters of the Canada-phobic commissioner Gary “U.S.” Bettman, the deterioration of the game into a defensive-minded mudfest in which concussed and over-armoured players compete to throw themselves in front of pucks, or the ignominious ejection of the national team from the World Championship by mighty, ahem, Slovakia.

But now we know. The answer is none of the above. By far the most humiliating blow to what is supposed to be Canada’s national game is the discovery by Swedish researchers of an engraving depicting a young man with a curved stick and flat-edged puck on the Thames River in London in December 1796.

It is, they say, the earliest known image of a hockey player, predating other images by half a century.

Oh great. Not only have the Americans stolen and defiled the game, now we find out it was invented by the freaking Brits. Here we thought Lord Stanley was intrigued by this Canadian game when he arrived to serve as Governor General, when in fact he must have been laughing up his sleeve that it took the lowly colonialists a century to catch on to a sport that was already old hat in the mother country.

Why don’t we just pack it in and go back to playing lacrosse. Unless some smarty-pants Swedish researcher already has images of the Saxons and Celts vying for the all-England lacrosse championship of 907 or something.

The big news in the NHL is that the Stanley Cup final could pit the New York Rangers against the Los Angeles Kings, a dream match-up for the American lawyer who runs the league and wants more viewers on American TV.

It’s been 17 years since a Canadian team won the cup. League headquarters is in mid-town Manhattan, where it’s certainly going to stay, given that the league built itself a shiny new 133,000 square foot home three years back. Three of the four remaining teams are captained by Americans. Three of the four are also losing money, while Canadian cities are so desperate for more hockey that two of them are building multi-million-dollar arenas just in the hope the NHL might favour them with a team. Might.

Look, why don’t we admit it. The game has been hijacked. The successful teams are all low-scoring bores. “The only thing worse than this is watching Kevin Na play golf,” says Jack Todd in The Gazette. The league constantly fiddles with the rules to try and make it exciting, only to have managers figure out new ways to revive the tedium. Gary Bettman would rather have a team lose money in Phoenix than make it in Hamilton. Every second player is concussed. The Globe notes: “True, the hockey has on many nights been a mundane festival of shot blocking and is over-coached to the point of tedium but the only people noticing seem to be Canadian hockey fans, and as the NHL knows they’ll watch paint dry if it’s sponsored by the NHL regardless of when it’s on TV. These fans are such sheep that they won’t even demand Saturday night playoff hockey.”

Why don’t we let them keep it, and start an all-Canadian league? There are already more Canadian teams than made up the entire league in the Original Six era. Play for the Beliveau Cup or something. Challenge the KHL for hockey supremacy. Next season would be a good time to start, since the NHL’s likely to be on strike anyway.

I’m sure he’s still on the job, rude as ever, but in order to watch Coach’s Corner I’d have to endure what must be the dullest Stanley Cup race of all time.

We’re down to, what, the semi-finals almost? And the remaining teams are Phoenix, Los Angeles, New Jersey and either Washington or New York. I’m betting New York beats the Capitals because they’re the more tedious of the two. (Although it’s always fun watching John Tortorella try not to burst into flames, the guy is such a dink you keep hoping he’ll run into the wrong end of Milan Lucic.)

Los Angeles against Phoenix. Wow, how exciting can you get? Phoenix made the semi-finals by winning a classic match-up against the Nashville Predators, which set a new standard by going five games without anyone, anywhere, noticing or caring. Enthusiasm in Phoenix is so great that Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, was able to pretend the team had been sold, yet again, to another owner who probably doesn’t have enough money, and who will in any case pay a fraction of what Jim Balsillie was willing to give (in actual currency) if Bettman hadn’t thrown a snit because Balsillie wasn’t reverential enough.

Los Angeles beat … let’s see … someone. Um, oh yeah, St. Louis, which staged a dramatic revival after hiring Ken Hitchcock to produce the kind of numbingly defensive hockey that really brings the fans in. Imagine the excitement if the Blues had defeated the Kings, and ended up in a final series against New Jersey, which won two previous Stanley Cups by having its players never leave the centre of the ice or score more than one goal a game. (One Philadelphia players said a big reason they lost to the Devils is because it’s hard to get excited in a game against New Jersey. “They didn’t give us anything to be emotional about … They weren’t in scrums and it seemed like they really didn’t hit us. … It wasn’t there and that was their mindset and game plan”)

New Jersey could make it to the finals again, which would be a great credit to its goalie, Martin Brodeur, who just turned 40. A match-up against Washington would pit Brodeur, one of the best of all time, against Alex Ovechkin, who used to be terribly exciting. Unfortunately Washington rarely uses Ovechkin in defensive match-ups, so we’d get an entire series of Brodeur against the Caps checking line.

Oh, the thrills.

The U.S. has won the past 17 consecutive Stanley Cups. When Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng trophy too many times in a row in the 1930s, the league let him keep the trophy and Lady Byng donated a new one. Maybe we should do the same. Let the U.S. keep the Stanley Cup and Canada could introduce a new one, the Stanley Memorial Cup (in memory of when we used to win it), for Canadian teams only. What’s the worst that could happen, Vancouver against Ottawa? OK, that’s bad, but not nearly as bad as Phoenix vs New Jersey.